Roasting spaghetti squash is a very simple dish to master, and yet it's impressive enough to serve up at a dinner party. It's a great alternative to heavy pasta and it's a delicious, nutritious base for all your favorite sauces and toppings.

Technique tip: A fork will help you easily scrape the squash "noodles" out of the skin.

Swap option: You can serve the squash with your favorite pasta sauce or simply drizzle with olive oil and parmesan cheese instead of the pesto.

Ingredients

Basil pesto (makes about 1 cup)

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups torn basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Squash

1 spaghetti squash

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

For the basil pesto:

1. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast pine nuts until they begin to brown, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Once cooled, add pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan to a food processor or blender. Pulse until everything is finely processed.

3. Add basil, and process, slowly drizzling in the olive oil until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the spaghetti squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet, flesh-side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Place in oven and roast for 45 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and, using a fork, scrape squash out of skin and place into bowl.